The project “CCforBio – Conservation corridors in woodlands: A win-win for biodiversity, wood production, and carbon sequestration,” coordinated by researcher Bruna Oliveira (CESAM/DAO), was honored with the 2023 Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation Award. This award, dedicated to the conservation, restoration, and monitoring of biodiversity in Portugal, recognized the researcher as one of the two winners, granting the project a total of €207,698.00.
In a competition with an approval rate of only 4.5%, the project presented by Bruna Oliveira, in collaboration with ICNF – Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests and the PINUS Center, received an outstanding score of 8.97 out of 9.00. Alongside CESAM integrated members Sofia Corticeiro (CESAM/DAO), Paula Maia (CESAM/DBio), João Puga (CESAM/DAO), Luís Tarelho (CESAM/DAO), Peter Roebeling (CESAM/DAO), and CESAM’s Ph.D. students, namely Diana Rodrigues and Tiago Silva. Bruna Oliveira will lead a project aiming to support, with scientific foundation, the maintenance of conservation corridors in wood production areas worldwide.
The project seeks to change the perception of forests, emphasizing not only their value as a wood source but also as places that provide other essential ecosystem services, such as habitat for plant and animal species, non-timber forest products, carbon sequestration, and recreational opportunities.
The Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation Award is an initiative resulting from a partnership between the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation (FBA). It aims to promote projects of notable merit and impact at the national and international levels in the field of biodiversity conservation, restoration, and monitoring in Portugal.
Text by: CESAM in collaboration with Bruna Oliveira